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Inmates are threatening to stage another hunger strike at the Toronto South Detention Centre to protest what they say are increasingly routine lockdowns, according to a corrections union official.

Being reguarly locked down inside cells like this one in the Toronto South Detention Centre sparked an inmate hunger strike last week, which might resume this week, according to a corrections union official. (Bernard Weil / Toronto Star)

Last week, inmates refused meals for three days in an effort to call attention to the situation. In a phone interview, inmate and strike organizer Jordan Brown said there have been 111 lockdowns since he arrived at the west-end superjail in February. “I think that dogs with the Humane Society have more freedom than we’re getting in this jail,” he said.

The total number of lockdowns across Ontario’s provincial jails have more than tripled since 2009, rising from 259 to 900 last year.

Inmates at Toronto South, in particular, have complained about being frequently confined to their 12-by-8-foot cell, without access to showers, yard time or visits from family or lawyers. A lockdown can last a few hours or drag on for days.

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After negotiations with prison staff, the inmates put their hunger strike on hold Friday, said Monte Vieselmeyer, corrections division chair of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. But they plan to resume the strike if nothing is done about their concerns.

In addition to the issue of routine lockdowns, the prisoners’ concerns include not having enough TV time and water leaking from the showers, making floors dangerously slippery.

“They basically stated that if nothing was rectified (this) week, they would return to their hunger strike,” Vieselmeyer said.

The number of lockdowns cited by Brown could not be confirmed by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, because the ministry only tracks lockdowns due to staffing shortages, not security reasons, according to a spokesperson for the ministry. Staffing shortages can result from a number of causes including “vacation leaves, sick calls or other types of leave,” the spokesperson added.

Three days into the hunger strike, Brown said he and the other inmates were starting to feel the effect of going days without eating.

“I’m feeling fatigued. . . I’ve had no food, just water,” Brown said Thursday. “We’re willing to go as far as it takes . . . Something has to be done about this situation.”

Toronto South was billed as a model, state-of-the-art maximum-security facility when it opened in January 2014, to replace the Don Jail and the Toronto West Detention Centre.

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But since last January, Ontario’s ombudsman has received 50 complaints about lockdowns there — about three times more than at any other jail in the province.

“I’ve been in eight other institutions,” Brown said. “In terms of lockdowns, this is by far the worst.”

Toronto defence lawyer Karen McArthur has represented clients who have spent time inside the jail. She said they describe a situation that’s unacceptable and inhumane.

“Generally four out of seven days in a week, two men are locked in a cell and they slide your meals through,” she said.

“You don’t get out to shower, you can’t use the phone . . . you can’t get a change of clothes, you can’t exercise . . . Nothing.”

Figures provided by the ministry show Toronto South was on partial or full lockdown due to staff absences for 52 days between Jan. 1 and June 31 this year. Numbers for July and August were unavailable.

Prisons across Ontario often have to declare lockdowns because of staffing shortages, Vieselmeyer noted.

“When they’re locked down it makes our jobs that much more difficult,” he said. “We’ve seen an escalation on the numbers of assaults on our staff and offenders.

“If this isn’t dealt with, and there are further hunger strikes connected with this issue, it’s going to be a much bigger problem for front-line staff.”

In a statement emailed to the Star, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services confirmed that the prisoners had refused to eat.

“While working to transform our correctional system, our top priority is always the safety and security of both staff and inmates within our correctional facilities and lockdowns are necessary at times to keep both staff and inmates safe,” the statement said.

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